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Delta is not interested in any commercial relationship with Qatar Airways, says its CE Ed Bastian, even after an accord Tuesday that addresses three US carriers' subsidy allegations against their Gulf rivals. "We have no plans," said Bastian on the possibility of a commercial tie up, for example an interline or codeshare agreement, with Qatar Airway. Delta and Qatar Airways have a notably tense relationship. A flash point was the Gulf carrier's inaugural flight to Atlanta in June 2016, which was forced to park at a remote position with passengers bussed to and from the terminal because the airport's few gates capable of handling an Airbus A380 were occupied by Delta aircraft. The agreement announced Thursday by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson includes financial disclosure and accounting requirements, as well as a commitment by Qatar Airways to not add flights to the USA from countries other than Qatar.<br/>

Garuda Indonesia opened two new routes to China Tuesday in an effort to tap into the country’s burgeoning tourist market, which in 2017 sent more than 130m tourists across the globe. The first route connects Xi’an—a historic city famous for Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army sculptures—to Denpasar with direct flights twice a week. The second route connects Zhengzhou—a major transportation hub for Central China—to Denpasar three times a week. Both routes are served by the carrier’s Airbus A330-300, which has a 360-seat capacity. The inaugural Xi’an-Denpasar direct flight landed at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport Tuesday. Garuda Indonesia cargo director Sigit Muhartono, who flew from Xi’an in the inaugural flight, expressed optimism over the new routes. “Of the 360 available seats, 346 were filled in. China is a very promising market and we are currently considering opening routes to Kunming and Zhenjiang,” he said.<br/>